Mum you’re amazing! Heartfelt stories from women who owe their mums so much
It doesn’t matter how old you are… you always need your mum as our best readers found out ‘She helped me rebuild my life’
Vicky Anning, 52, is from Cambridge. ‘It was only when I became a mum to my daughter, Jenna, now 15, that I understood how much my mum had done for me.
‘My parents divorced in the Seventies when I was five and my mum, Angela Anning, now 75, raised me and my younger brother, Simon. She studied through the night to be a teacher, so she could be with us during the day. It was a struggle, I know that now, but Mum kept smiling.
‘ Years later, Jenna was three months old when my husband,
Ben, then 38, was diagnosed with cancer. Mum left her home 200 miles away in York, to stay with us, looking after Jenna while I was back and forth visiting Ben in hospital.
‘In July 2006, just before Jenna’s second birthday, Ben had a cardiac arrest and died.
‘Once again, Mum was there. My priority was Jenna, anything else – even the most basic household task – felt too overwhelming.
‘Mum put meals on the table, cleaned the house, mowed the lawn...
‘ When you lose the father of your child, you lose the one other person who cares about the little things your child does. But every time Jenna achieved something new, Mum was as overjoyed as I was. I treasure the fact that I still had somebody who loved Jenna as unconditionally as I did.
‘Because Mum had been a role model as a single mum to me, she had shown me I could be a single parent – it didn’t mean Jenna would have any less of a childhood.
‘Knowing Jenna was in safe hands with Mum meant I could meet other widows through WAY Widowed & Young.
‘She helped me rebuild my life so
I could be the best possible mum to my daughter.’ If you’ve been widowed young, visit widowedandyoung. org.uk for support.